Secrets of the Void
by thecakemasterofpanem
Summary: Emily and Trellis get separated in the Void while they are trying to find Max. Both of them figure out what happened in each others' pasts and futures that could affect who wins the upcoming battle in Book 6. This fanfic has no designated time set.
1. Betrayal and Entrance

Trellis knew better than to believe anything that Max and his people said. Everyone else in the traveling group may have fallen for it, except himself, Emily, and maybe Leon, but he sensed something was wrong with this whole picture. He wanted to find out what. He felt he had to protect Emily from whatever it was, so at night, he would walk near her bedroom chamber and make sure no one disturbed her.

On a night with wind that bit through his heavy armor, he walked down the halls just as he always did. Something in her room was casting a bright light, because he could see it through the tiny window in the door. He started running and burst through it.

"Shhh!" Max held up a hand. "She's sleeping," he whispered.

Trellis growled in a low voice, "What are you doing in here?"

"What are you doing far away from your bed chamber? Being out during the night without my consent is prison-worthy." An evil smile crossed his face. He explained, "I am simply motivating her when she is unaware. She needs to learn her skills quickly. There's nothing to worry about." He hid an object behind his back.

"What are you holding?" the Elf Prince asked.

"Nothing."

He grabbed Max's arm and held it in the air; the object was a thick dagger.

"You little rat."

All of a sudden, Max's stone lit up and blew Trellis to the back of the room. When the elf lifted his eyes, Max was gone.

Slowly, he got up and leaned over Emily, who was stuck in the Void and sweating. He knew he had to get her out of there somehow, so he concentrated his stone's energy into the focus of his mind. A large of energy engulfed him and took him in.

He landed in the middle of an almost empty castle, his eyes widening as he looked into the face of his mother.


	2. The First Memory

**Trellis:**

This can't be right. Maybe Emily's around here somewhere, because I thought if you enter the Void, you find the other stonekeeper you're looking for. But I can't think about that right now. I have to hide before my mother sees me.

I get up and almost trip as I jump to hide behind the wall of a nearby hallway. I don't know how I remembered what she looks like, but somehow I just knew it was her. My stone must know where I have landed.

"Where did you take me?" I hiss.

_"You can't remember a lot about your life, so I'm showing you everything you missed that's important."_

"What about Emily? Where is she?"

_"Both of you will meet up eventually, but not now. She will learn things about everyone she knows in Alledia. Most of it will have to do with you."_

"Why?"

_"It is necessary."_

I'm not willing to keep arguing, so I look around the corner where I saw my mother, listening intently for anyone who might be coming up behind me and blowing my cover. I'm not really sure who is who, but I'm not up to ask because I would most likely be seen as an intruder and be sentenced to execution.

My mother has left, and I see two boys walk in, one carrying a weapon and the other stumbling behind. I understand. The older one looks about eleven, but his definitive cheekbones give him away. It's Luger. I must be the one stumbling behind; I'm only four. I appear to be trying to beat him up so I can have the weapon, but he keeps shoving me down. I start screaming and crying. Mother comes in and crouches down next to me asking, "What happened? Tell me what's wrong!" She must be the only other person besides Uncle Virgil that's concerned about my well-being. I'm obviously a brat, but I haven't figured that out for almost nineteen years. No wonder my father hates me.

I scream at my mom, "LUGER WON'T GIVE ME THE TOOOYY!" In my nineteen-year-old body, I feel pathetic and upset with myself for being such a baby.

My mom says, "Shh. It's not a toy, Trellis. You'll get one too. You just have to be patient. Calm down." I nod as she opens her arms and hugs me so I'll relax.

Luger snarls, "Annoying little freak."

Mom's head whips around and she glares at him. "If you want him to leave you alone, don't rub it in his face that you have a weapon."

He growls at her and walks away. It must be because she is not his real mother. My father was happier before his first wife died. Luger belonged to her, which is mainly why him and I have such a big gap between our ages. I'm not really sure why my father married my mother, but I had no control over that, so maybe it doesn't matter.

_"They will find you if you do not move. Go down the hallway you are in and climb the stairs until you reach a door at the top of the tower. There you will find the next memory."_

I spot a guard coming my way, so I do as my stone tells me. The sky seems to change from day to night as I get closer and closer to the door. I stop when I hear voices coming from inside the specific room. They voices belong to both of my parents. They're arguing.

"This is no place for two children, Cilestia. It would be better for them if they lived in the country. I can't deal with them. They distract from my work," my father says.

My mother argues, "What work? Why is it so important that you can't just spend an hour of time with them? They need support from you so they can grow up to be great men. They need you!"

"My work is none of your concern. Even if this place was safe enough, they'd be better off learning from my brother. I cannot teach them. Trellis especially."

Ouch.

"What will happen if Virgil can't take care of them? One of those children will take your place! And they need to know how to handle what you can! Just explain it to them! Explain why you can't be with them all the time!"

"ENOUGH CILESTIA! WE WILL DISCUSS THIS LATER!"

"IF YOU WANT TO GET RID OF THEM NOW, YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO THEM NOW!"

"LUGER ALREADY UNDERSTANDS! HE DOESN'T QUESTION ME! HE WILL BE KING AND HAVE NO TROUBLE WITH IT!"

"What about Trellis?!"

"Trellis is already proving how weak he is. I'll give him chances when he's old enough to take them, but as of now, he is not to be tolerated in this castle. He can't do the simplest things all the other children his age can, so I don't know how he could amount to anything by the time he turns eleven!"

"You don't love him just because he didn't come from your first wife."

This conversation is making me sick. I feel like no one cares about me except my mom and Virgil, which is probably the truth, and even with that, I don't see how they can when I'm a brat to both of them.

I wonder if they have finally stopped fighting; no one says anything. I see that my father ends it permanently when he removes a sword from his belt and kills my mother.

"This is too much for me to take in," I inform my stone of my deadening emotions.

_"You already knew what happened, but you couldn't remember it. Now it's coming back to you, and it will continue to do so. I will take you to the next memory."_

I'm still processing what I have seen as the stone takes me away.


	3. Unexpected

**Emily:**

I just landed in a lake and lost my cloak. Now I'm sitting on shore, freezing and wondering why I was suddenly thrown here. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing, but all I want right now is to leave and wake up. It would help if I had an idea of where I am.

_"You're in the Void."_

Stupid stone.

_"I'm only trying to help you, Emily."_

What am I doing here then?

_"This will improve your knowledge."_

Sure. Whatever.

I get up and try to contain myself, try to figure a way out, but I'm clueless. Maybe if I walk around, I'll find something I can use. There's a thick forest around the lake and fog conceals everything, so I don't get far. I think someone is following me. I stop and wait for something to reveal itself, maybe an animal or even the humanoid of my stone; my eyes and ears give me nothing.

"AHG!" I'm tackled and pinned, staring into the eyes of an elf who looks to be almost my age. He's tugging at my shirt collar and holding a knife above his head. I should have seen this coming.

"Who are you and what are you doing on this island?! This place is strictly for elves only! Anyone who breaks the rules will be sentenced to death by order of the Elf King!" he hisses in my face.

There's something oddly familiar about this kid, but I can't place my finger on it. He doesn't have an amulet, and if his voice was higher-pitched, I would have thought he was a girl; his hair is cut in a weird way. I would blow him up with my stone, but it doesn't seem like a good idea. So instead, I answer his demanding questions.

"My name is Emily Hayes, and my being here is so complicated, you wouldn't understand. By the way, I suggest you get get off me before I electricute you with my amulet."

He growls and gets off. At least he's smart.

As I get to my feet, I say, "If you'd show me the way out of here, we can pretend this never happened."

"Why should I help you?" he asks.

"Do you like watching people die?"

He glares at me and then looks into the distance. "No."

"Well then, I don't get it."

"I'm sorry about my behavior. I'm just trying to prove that I'm loyal to my father."

I really hope that not all elves have to kill something else to prove loyalty, because I'm tired of detecting this pattern. My confusion must be showing on my face, because he explains, "My father is the king."

What?! WHAT?! Just to make sure I'm right, I ask, "What's your name?"

"Trellis."

Yep. This is definately the Void. But what would I accomplish by meeting Trellis before he was a scar-faced evil elf? I ask, "Why are you out here by yourself?"

"No one cares about where I am."

"Why aren't you dressed in finery and living in a castle?"

"I've been classified as the weaker sibling."

"So what?"

"My mother was the only one who could ensure my protection because my father is always disappointed with me."

"Then where's your mom?"

He didn't say anything; he started tearing up. That indicates her whereabouts aren't good. He fell on his knees and burried his head in his hands as he said, "She's dead, and it's my fault."

That can't be right. I know that he's grouchy and ignorant, but I don't think he would cause the death of his mom.

It looks like he's struggling to fight back his tears, even though I won't hold it against him. The only thing I can think to do that will be the most effective is attempt to comfort him. I crouch down next to him and give him a hug. He holds his breath in surprise. I tell him, "I'm sure that's not true."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I don't know. I just feel I have to."

"My father's right. I am a poor excuse of a prince."

"Stop worrying about it."

I think all that he really needs is a friend. This whole experience makes me feel bad for him, and suddenly I know how this is important for the future.

He pushes me off, turns to face me, and then hugs me again. How wrong I was to think he was mean out of his own choice. He whispers, "I'll show you how to get out of here." Then both of us get up and I follow him through the forest.

I start to deteriorate. I want to call for it to stop, but I'm frozen. I see Trellis turn back as I'm stripped away.

"Emily?" is the last thing I hear him say.


	4. Crash

**Trellis:**

I don't remember landing, but I'm aware of the cold temperature of my surroundings and I'm not paralized. My strength is failing, so it feels almost impossible to get to my feet and look around, but I do.

This is an unfamiliar place. Its true, I can't remember much, but I'm sure I've never been here before. The stone must have taken me back to earth, even though they only memory I have of being here is when I was pursuing Emily and her brother. Perhaps this memory isn't even mine.

_"You are right."_

This memory doesn't belong to me?

_"It does not."_

Then why am I here?

_"Start walking, Trellis."_

This is ridiculous. Although I have no relations to what is going on around me, I assume it's probably best to obey and see what I was sent here for. The snow on the ground makes it difficult to walk, but I go on until my stone tells me to stop. I see nothing. What is this?

_"Be patient."_

There isn't time for this! I should be-

I just now notice the road above me to my left, and a person is standing at the edge of it next to some form of vehicle. The bright lights from the road made it known to me. Another one is coming from behind me and honks to the vehicle with bright lights. It's about to run into the person when it swerves and breaks through the gate at the road's side.

I watch as it tumbles down the hill, glass shattering, and it stops at the edge of the cliff I'm on, held there by a single tree. This confuses me and scares me at the same time. Why would the vehicle with lights want this one to fall and break? For sure, I'm on earth.

It sounds like there are people inside the vehicle, and one of them is crawling out the front window. I realize that it's Emily. She looks so small and nervous. Her mother's comes out next, trying to stop a bloody nose. Emily reaches into the car and I hear her yell, "Mom! Dad's stuck!"

Oh no. I can tell where this is going.

There's comotion as the car tips and the tree looks like it'll break any second. Emily tries to pull the car back, and then gives up and pulls her mother out just before the whole thing falls off the cliff. Both of them are crying.

I run to the edge of the abyss, but I stop when I hear a large smashing noise. It would be impossible for anyone to survive something like that.

My mother was killed at the hands of my father, and Emily's dad was killed in a car accident. Now I understand why she's so serious, and that this accident is probably what brought her to that old house in the first place. If I had known this before, I would have refused to go after her. I would have refused to attempt to kill her. As I look back on how I acted, I picture a mindless boy who was so desperate to be noticed that he would kill for it. How can she stand me for trying to take her only other parent away?

_"She would not have met you if it weren't for this,"_ the stone whispers.

I wish it could have happened a different way.

_"Let me show you the future instead."_

What? My body disappears again.


	5. Defiance and Pain

**Emily:**

"AH!" I land in the dirt, 20 foot trees surrounding me on every side. I want to believe that I'm still on that island with the younger version of Trellis, but I know that I'm not when I hear the Elf King's voice a few yards away. I say to my stone, "You really need to stop doing that. It's making my neck hurt."

_"My apologies, young master."_

Where are we now and why is the Elf King so close? Am I supposed to stop him now so there's not as much trouble in the future?

_"You have not come to Alledia yet. If the king dies now, the future will be just as disturbed as it is the way you see it when you're awake."_

So why am I here, then?

_"Do you see the clearing in front of you?"_

Yes.

_"Sit in the bushes and watch what plays out. Remember that you must not interfere with the events of the past."_

I go sit in the underbrush, observing a fight in the distance. The king is circling the fighters, giving instructions at the same time. He says, "One of you will take my place. This will prove which one of you is strong enough to rule with a fist of iron. Mercy is not an option. Act and don't think. See the oponent as your worst enemy and take them down." That doesn't sound very kingly to me.

The competitors must be Trellis and Luger, since he referred to them as taking his place. I have no doubt the two of them would kill each other at this time; Luger isn't a soft-hearted old man yet and Trellis probably wants to beat the crap out of him because he's jealous of Luger's status and favor. Before I realize it, the king has shouted "Begin!" and the brothers are now facing off.

"You want to kill me, don't you?" Luger asks and grins at Trellis.

"More than you know," he replies.

Luger chuckles and then takes the first swing with his sword, but Trellis blocks it with his and tries to push it away. They take steps in different directions while they swing at each other, blocking and kicking, trying to trip each other to gain the upper-hand. At one point, the older brother makes the younger stumble, and he kicks Trellis in the chest, bringing down his metal weapon to slash the left side of his face. This must be how Trellis got that ugly scar.

Right now, he's shouting in agony and holding his head with his hand. I really hope that his eye isn't going to fall out, because that would send me to the point of throwing up.

Luger turns to the king and asks, "Shall I finish him?"

The king says, "Not this time. Go and find a nurse."

"Yes, father."

How can anyone be so cruel to their own child?

As they're leaving, an unexpected thing happens. Trellis takes his hand off of his bloody face and gets up, surprising Luger with a trip and pointing his sword in his brother's face.

"Good move, my son. You may continue," the Elf King says.

Trellis spits in his father's direction and grumbles, "No. I'm not like you. You don't have the decency to be concerned about me, so I won't concern myself with you. I can find my own way around here without you. You're lucky I'm not the same as you or Luger. If I was, I would have killed both of you a long time ago. Now get out of my way. My face hurts." With that, he left. That would be so impossible for me to pull off.

"Why not banish him, father?"

"He will be important in later years. I have seen it."

What did he just say? That's a bit creepy. I want to go follow Trellis and see if he's okay; maybe he needs help finding a nurse.

_"It is not your place to interfere. We must leave now,"_ my stone tells me. It's so unfair, but already I'm disappearing.


	6. The Best

**Trellis:**

I hit the smooth floors of another hallway, and again recognize that I'm in Gulfen. Why do you keep taking me here? This is the last place I want to be!

_"It is your home."_

It's the worst kind of home.

_"Just watch, and notice the difference in your surroundings."_

I look around and I do notice something different. It's more . . . alive. Even though everything is still the same color as it was before, the feeling is happier. Sunlight is streaming through the massive frames of windows. The woodwork is new; it's not sharp or unsettling. Flowers appear everywhere in the carvings, and each detail is delicate and flowing. This isn't the Gulfen I remember. There aren't gaurds swarming the halls and shouting at each other. All I hear is birdsong from outside, and wait, footsteps?

My impulse is to find a closet and hide in it, which is exactly my course of action. The room I run into looks like a hospital dorm - there's equipment against the walls and a bed in the center.

Unfortunately, the people walking in my direction choose this room to go into, but they don't see me. A bunch of nurses are running in and out while a few others tell a young woman to lay down. Her red hair gives her identity away. I'm surprised to see that Emily is the patient, and she looks maybe in her early twenties, and another surprise is . . she's . . . pregnant. It dawns on me that she's going into labor and I grow increasingly upset, wishing that I chose a different closet to hide in. I turn away and cover my ears because I have a pretty good idea of what coming.

After a grueling half an hour, I hear crying, laughter, and applause all at once. I peek back into the room and see everbody I've teamed up with, witnessing this birth, and a few faces I don't recognize, perhaps newer members. Everyone is here and in the hallway except me. This is obviously the future, and Emily is still here, but, what happened? Did I die at the climax of the battle?

Then the future me rushes into the room. I'm even more in shock because I'm very well-dressed and I remove a crown from my head as I gaze at the tiny child. And, even more frightening, a lot of the nurses are telling me and Emily, "Congradulations."

O.O

...What?

WHAT?! That can't be right! IT CAN'T BE! Emily and I are just friends - and I'm pretty sure that's all we'll ever be. There is NO WAY this could actually happen. Maybe, MAYBE, it would come close. But not this far.

_"Stop worrying so much, Trellis. This is just best-case cenario. It's quite unlikely that this would occur in the future."_

I relax.

_"You will also see worst-case, which is coming up shortly. For now, take a look at your son."_

I cringe at the word "son". The baby has calmed down and I realize he looks a lot like an elf, except for the tuft of red hair on his head.

Emily's mother wants to know the name of her grandchild. Emily tells her, "Alex."

It's hard for me to believe how nice that name sounds, but also, it's unlike any name I've heard in Alledia. As far as I'm seeing, I won't be such a horrible parent as my father was, and I want it to stay that way.

_"Worst-case is coming."_

I'm so unfocused that I don't understand what my stone is saying before I dissolve and re-appear on a huge battleground.


	7. Oncoming Torture

**Emily:**

I'm so sick of transporting to different times. I just want to go home.

_"You must watch this."_

You've been saying that since I fell asleep. Now where am I?

_"Gulfen. In the dungeons."_

What?! Why?! Get me out of here! Someone's going to notice me!

_"Not if you hide in the shadows, my dear."_

Don't call me that.

I walk into the corner of the room where it's so dark that I can't even see my hand in front of my face. I pray that nothing grabs me from behind. A bunch of gaurds come into the dungeon and make way as the Elf King enters just ahead of his son. Two gaurds are locking Trellis' arms behind his back. What the heck? When did this happen?

_"You mean_ 'when _does this happen?'"_

Oh crap. Trellis is going to get arrested. But how? I wish I would've seen what happened before this.

The king says, "This is for your own good, my son. I would not like for you to get hurt or get in the way of me when the final battle arises. As your father, I must protect you."

The Elf King? Concerned about safety? What a liar. Trellis makes my thoughts known.

"You've never cared about my safety before, so why would you care now? All you've ever caused me is pain. You are not my father."

Oooooh burn. Take that Elf King!

The leader of Alledia is then handed some sort of weapon from one of the guards. Okay, maybe telling off your powerful dad was a bad idea. He presses a button and the weapon lights up as Trellis is chained to the wall. The gun looks like its being powered by the mother stone. Again, crap.

I see another surprise when Max walks into the room to observe the torture. "Might I have the honor?" he asks the king. The king hands it over. "Now we finally have something to test this on." Trellis spits on Max's shoes. Max snickers and starts aproaching the Elf Prince. I don't want to find out what that gun does.

So I jump out of my hiding spot and tackle Max Griffin as the weapon slides to the king's feet and everyone else is caught off guard. I punch him in the face multiple times before a guard yanks me off of him and chains me to the other end of the room facing Trellis. I plan to use my stone to bust out and blow them all up but my stone won't do anything.

_"You have interfered young master. You're very lucky that your future self isn't really here, or else things would have gotten a lot more complicated."_

So now I can't use my stone. Great.

Max walks up to me and smirks. "How nice to see you again Emily." I would definately blow him up _first_.

He walks back over to Trellis, who is staring at me with so much concern in his eyes, it makes me feel slighlty guilty for tyring to save him, like he doesn't want me to suffer like he does. I wonder what happens that makes him so protective of me. And I also don't know if I want to find out.

The king's sidekick revs up the weapon and points it at Trellis' head, firing immediately and making me scream in protest. I struggle in my chains as Trellis screams too and his eyes glow so much, the pupils are gone. Are they melting his brain or something? I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE. I HAVE TO SAVE HIM.

Then the noise stops and everyone just sits there silently, waiting for the results. He's not moving. Is he dead? I hope he's not. He better not be.

He lifts his head slowly and looks between Max and his evil father.

"Trellis? Son?" the Elf King asks.

"Yes father?"

"Are you willing to fight a battle for your people?"

"Yes."

"Your enemy is across the room from you. If you can defeat her now, her allies will be no challenge to us."

"I understand, father."

Crap. I'm in trouble. The gaurds release Trellis and he's walking towards me as I dissolve into nothing, hopefully going back home. I find I'm not so fortunate as I land on a massive battleground.


	8. The Final Battle

**Trellis:**

I'm surrounded by chaos. Every twenty seconds there's an explosion. I see my team trying to destroy as many gaurds as they can while the recruited army uses their technology to try and break enemy lines. I can't find myself in this mess, but the future Emily is extremely noticable in the middle of the field with her amulet's light wrapping around everything.

I'm standing in the forest to the left of the castle gate, where my father's forces are reloading and charging over the wall. Emily is trying to make her way up to it, but the endless supply of gaurds is holding her back. I should be helping her, but I'm no where to be found. This is the worst case?

_"Yes."_

Am I already dead?

_"You will see."_

I bet I am. I can look tough but that doesn't mean I'm strong. There have been too many places in my past where I've been broken.

My father is visible now. He's coming down the bridge to the gate, surrounded by a large group of guards. Max is walking right behind him. Is this where that little rat went? Or is this his future self? It's too difficult to tell. Behind the line of guards and Max is another person - I can't really tell who it is. They're wearing a helmet that covers their face, but they're obviously a male.

I'm so focused on this mystery person that I lose track of where my father and Max have gone. The mass of guards jump over the wall and charge like a wave over the battleground. The mystery person jumps over as well, but they walk instead of run, like there's nothing chaotic ahead of them. Then they remove the helmet from their head.

It's me.

* * *

**Emily:**

Everything seems to be blowing up around me, although I'm concealed in the trees just left of the field. I recognize all of my friends, either fighting with guards on the ground or trying to bring down the wall in the colossus suits. Navin and Aly must be in them. Leon is taking down so many gaurds I can't count them all, and my future self appears to be throwing them around and blowing them up just as well as the suits.

I spot a group of gaurds coming down the bridge to the gate, Max and the Elf King in the middle of them. They move to the wall and the guards scale it and charge towards us while the king and Max seem to hide behind it. There's another gaurd - or at least I think it's a guard - scaling the wall and just walking across the field towards my future self. They look like they might be the head of the army, and I feel even more sure when the guards around me back away and go fight with other people on my team.

We must be about to face off, and frankly I'm kind of scared because my armor doesn't look very comfortable and my sword too heavy. Who dressed me that morning? The head guy takes off his helmet and I see that it's Trellis, who's still brainwashed by that weapon. I wonder if the king is trying to figure out how I got away so easily and avoided getting mind controlled. My future self has her mouth hanging open because she doesn't know what happened to him like I do. Maybe this is slightly inaccurate now because I would remember this as I'm fighting.

Somehow I manage to hear our words through all the noise of war. "Trellis?" I say as he stops a few yards away from me.

"Hello Emily." His scar-faced evil elf smile returns and I'm reminded of Gondoa Mountain. It makes me sick. He continues, "Thank you for letting me in on all of your training and a few of your thoughts -"

* * *

**Trellis:**

" - I really appreciate it."

What on Alledia has happened to me? Why am I a jerk, and more importantly, WHY AM I ON MY FATHER'S SIDE?!

_"Emily knows."_

You showed her?

_"Yes. But she won't be able to tell you."_

Why not?

I get no answer from my stone and it makes me nervous. What if she dies? I can't let that happen. Is that the real her out on the field? About to face me? What do I do?

_"You cannot interfere with the past, young master."_

Now I'm angry and helpless. All I manage to do is sit and watch what plays out.

The future Emily looks exasperated and struggled to get out, "Wh - why are you on.. your fath-"

"My father's side?" my future self finishes for her. I would like to know the answer to this question as well. I explain, "Emily, I was never completely on your side. Your rag tag team has never been a match to my father and I. The only reason I gained your trust was to get a little more information."

No. That's not right! I'm not a spy! I don't like my father and I'm not on his side. I'm on Emily's side!

The future Emily looks torn, and I continue to speak, "What's the matter? Are you going to cry like the lovesick pre-teen you are? I'm _far_ too out of your league. I've never liked you, so there's definately no way I'd ever _love_ you."

I want to punch myself in the face for being so cruel.

* * *

**Emily:**

What is he talking about? And what am I doing? I should be kicking his butt! Not crying because he doesn't care about me! I'm not hurt because I know he's brainwashed. Trellis wouldn't go back to the way he was when we first met. He's better than that.

Eventually, my future self gets really angry and her and future Trellis are fighting with all their strength. Blow after blow is attempted and neither of them progress. Then my rage blinds me and I stumble over the body of a dead guard. I'm screaming, "STOP IT TRELLIS! THIS ISN'T YOU!" Everyone else is too busy with guards to aid me.

He replies, "I'm more me than I'll ever be, and the real me hates you." In an instant he somehow rips my amulet from my throat and -

I throw up when I see the head of my future self fly off my body. I'm gasping for breath just because I'm so disgusted and surprised.

From across the field I hear someone scream, "EMILYYYYYYY!" It sounds like Trellis. I realize that his real self is here too, in the Void with me. The sound he makes is terrible and scary; it makes the rest of my team look towards where him and I were fighting.

I throw up again when I see he's raised my head above his for everyone to observe.

* * *

**Trellis:**

Get me out of here. I can't watch this. I pray it's not the real her. It can't be. She can't be gone, especially not at my hand. I could never kill Emily Hayes. Ever. Because . . . I love her.

Then it hits me that my future self is exactly like my deceased father. I'm merely a walking corpse, controlled by - oh crap.

_"I will let you know that this is far more likely to occur than the other future I showed you."_

Leave me alone you demon.

_"Why must you be so upset? This is worst case, so your chances are decent."_

Just stop talking to me.

_"Wouldn't you like to know what is most likely to occur after all of this is over?"_

. . . . . . . What?

_"Almost everyone lives and she goes back to earth with her family."_

Who dies then?

_"I will leave that for you to find out."_

Then I'm being deteriorated once more and I don't see anything but darkness.


	9. Waking Up

Emily's eyes open and she finds that she's back in her bed chamber. Then she notices Trellis passed out on the floor. What was he doing in here? She debates with herself about wether or not she should sneak away, because she doesn't know if she should trust him anymore.

She's about to get up when his eyes open and he jerks himself into a sitting position. For a moment they just stare at each other, unsure of what to say. Then finally she asks, "What are you doing in here?"

"Trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"Max. He was in here before me, and I walked in as he was about to kill you."

"What?! Where did he go?"

"Into the Void. I tried to follow him in there but my stone sent me to places other than where he was."

Maybe she could trust him. She didn't want to talk about everything she had just seen, but she knew it would be valuable information later. She says, "I heard you yell on that battlefield. Where were you?"

"In the trees to the right of the gate."

"I was in the trees to the left."

Again, they didn't speak for a moment. He couldn't look at her because now he was certain that she could never trust him - or love him for that matter. Leaving the room was what he wanted to do most, but his legs would not move.

She gets up and crouches down in front of him. "That wasn't you, so don't feel guilty."

His head shoots up disbelief. "What would I be doing in Gulfen, though? I know I was being controlled, but the controller was using my body, and that's almost just as bad. Because I'm probably a walking corpse, just like my father. I'm dead but I somehow have the ability to murder you. Maybe I don't seem terrible anymore, but I feel like that unspeakable evil is buried within me, and it's waiting for the right moment to come out."

"But that's not who you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You were never evil to begin with. I saw how you got that scar, and even though Luger almost cut your eye out, you didn't lash him back like your father would have. You're better than you think you are."

"But still-"

"Stop talking." She hugs him so his self confidence will rise. It works because his emotions move him to focus only on what she's doing. "You're not bad," she whispers in assurance.

He whispers, "Thank you." In a way, this makes him feel like a little kid again, being comforted by his mother.

She stops hugging him and they look at each other. She smiles as she punches him playfully in the shoulder. That makes him smile as well. "Get some sleep."

They both get up and Trellis walks to the doorway, then haults and says over his shoulder, "I have to do something first."

"What?"

It happens so fast that Emily doesn't have time to be surprised before the kiss is over and he's out the door.

She sits on her bed and wraps her arms around her pillow, hoping it won't be too akward when she sees him tomorrow.

* * *

**Okay, guys. End of story. If you have any ideas for new fanfics, please share them! I need something with Leon in it.**


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